Friday Breakfast...

Morning Peeps,

Happy Friday! I started my day off with a balance breakfast:

1 slice of sprouted grain toast
1 egg
1c sautéed spinach
Almond slivers and raspberries on the side

I topped this off with some hot sauce Here's a pic if you don't believe me :-p
















Healthy. Balanced. Delicious.

I plan on getting a cardio session in during lunch :-)

How is your Friday morning going?

Cinch! Lunch

This mish mash of yogurtness contains non fat greek yogurt, almonds and blueberries. The Cinch! calls this the parfait but I just mixed it all together in a bowl. Also, I used blueberries instead of raspberries. The raspberries were a little to tart this morning and I did not want to pair it with already tart yogurt! Swapping out raspberries is acceptable on this plan, so no worries there.

How was your lunch?

Cinchtastic Breakfast

To get back into the healthy eating game, I've decided to do The Cinch! Fast forward plan this week. If you recall, I did this back in January and is sort of a detox, with real foods. ALL the weight I had lost while on the fast forward, I was able to keep it off! The fast forward is comprised of five foods:
Spinach
Eggs
Raspberries
Almonds
Yogurt

Last time, I did not find it difficult to do this and I expect this time to be same.

So, here's the deal for breakfast. I had one poached egg over saute'd spinach. On the side I had a cup of frozen berries with almonds! This was actually pretty refreshing for hot day!

What did you have for breakfast?

Cinchful Breakfast...

This mornings breakfast was easy an one. Still following the Cinch! guidelines I had a piece of Ezekiel's toast with a TB of peanut butter and sliced banana on top. I also had a cup of almond milk with some coffee in it.

Here's how this meal shaped up:
Whole Grain: Ezekiel toast
Plant Fat: peanut butter
Produce: banana
Protein: almond milk

What did you have for breakfast?

ENERGETIC lunch...

I know I said I wanted a veggie sandwich from Subway for lunch. When I met up with my friend I quickly changed my mind and was craving a lunch from Energy Kitchen. I LOVE Energy Kitchen! All of their food choices are pretty healthy and nutritious.

Keeping up with the Cinch! principles, I decided to have a Tuna Sandwich on a whole wheat bun with a side of steamed spinach and steamed broccoli. I only had half of the bun from my sandwich since most of the whole grain servings on the Cinch! only call for one slice of bread.

So, here's the meal, in a cinch :-p

Whole grain: bun
Lean protein: tuna
Plant fat: mayo
Produce: spinach, broccoli

Thoughts on lunch...

It's 12:10pm and now I'm starting to get hungry! I'll be meeting my friend Tika for a Subway lunch. I'm thinkin of a loaded veggie sandwich on whole wheat with a slice of swiss and some oil and vinegar!

What are you guys having for lunch?

My Cinch-tastic breakfast!

Starting my day off with a great Cinch-tastic breakfast. I had a bowl of sliced banana and whole almonds(12) in almond milk. I also had a slice of Ezekiel Sesame Seed toast.

Whole grain: Ezekiel toast
Produce: banana
Plant fat: almonds
Protein: almond milk

Breakfast eaten at 9:00am.

What are you having for breakfast?

Monday Morning: A weighty issue...

Good Morning All,

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend. I know I had a fun filled, exciting weekends! I had an awesome evening down the shore and had a great time with great friends!

This morning I woke up and weighed myself and saw the scale read 137.8...YOWZA!!! So, I went away for a few days towards the end of June. For five days I really did not watch my diet, but I did manage to get a work out or two in. For five days I pretty much ate as much as I wanted and whatever I wanted. Those five days were enough to throw me off track once I got back. Yup, I never really returned to a regular workout program and I never returned to eating a healthy diet most days of the week. So, I completely understand why the scale reads six more pounds than usual. As my clothes are getting snug and my energy levels have slightly gone down, I feel it's best to get right back on track and start eating and exercising like I use to! I still have a month and a half of summer left and I plan on enjoying it to the fullest!

At the end of the day what really works for me is eating right and exercising. As far as eating right goes, following the Cinch! principles is what has really worked for me. Yes, each meal must consist of: lean protein, produce,plant fat and whole grain.

As far as exercising goes, I'm still in love with INSANITY. In fact, I last left off on the last week of month two. I'm now going to go ahead and start INSANITY all over again. That mean it's a Fit Test workout today! I just love the intensity of INSANITY. I love leaving a workout dripping in sweat and knowing I've accomplished something I thought I could never do. As grueling as INSANITY is, time flies by each workout.

I'm happy that I'm realizing now that I must get back on track. The old me would have been so discouraged that I would have continued on with my bad habits and let things spiral out of control. Now, I'm more realistic about things. Why did I gain weight: I continued to eat junk and not exercise. This was all my doing, but it's OK since I know what I need to do to get back on track.

Alright, so I will be documenting my exercise and eating habits. If any of you out there need to get back on track, hopefully you can join me or look to this as inspiration. At the end of the day it comes down to two things: eating right and exercising. You can do this!

Breakfast time...

Well, now that I let everyone know how much I hate Monday's, let's get onto more interesting things, such as what I ate for breakfast this morning!

This morning I had a wonderful Greek yogurt and ricotta bowl, sprinkled with a bunch of Simply Organic Cinnamon. I mixed in one small banana, chopped and two TB of crunchy PB. These days I'm loving the PB by Peanut Butter &Co.

What did you guys have for breakfast?

Question of the day: What's your favorite type of peanut butter and how do you like it?

The Cinch!...AGAIN!

Today is the last day on the Cinch! fast forward. As many of you know, this is the second time I'm doing this. The first time around, I lost a considerable 8 pounds, this time, just 1. Now, after the Cinch! fast forward the first time, I have been losing about a pound a week, as I've kept up with the Cinch! puzzle since. I think I did not lose much weight this time because I'm already following these principles, which is good. The only thing that Imissed out on this week was the variety of food I could have eaten. I LOVE the Cinch! and think it's a great plan, but if you continue to follow the Cinch! principles, I don't think you need to do the fast forward again.

Yogurt Parfait...

Hey Guys,

Sorry for the lack of posting yesterday! First things first, I promised you guys the recipe for the yogurt parfait. Although I use the same ingredients, I like to eat my "parfait" bowl style vs actual parfait style.

Here are the deets: 6oz. Greek yogurt 1c of raspberries 10 whole almonds (the recipe calls for 2TB of slivered, but I like the texture of whole almonds) Procedure: Layer this baby up parfait style. I added a TON of my favorite cinnamon to the yogurt. This got me thinkin...why don't they make a cinnamon flavored yogurt? Question of the day: What's your favorite type of yogurt to eat and how do you eat it? My answer: Chobani non fat with almond butter stirred in!

Good morning...

Good Morning Everyone,

Monday is over with!!! Yay...I always find Monday's to be the hardest day of the week. Last night I made it back to my apartment at 8:45pm. Much later than expected. I whipped up my Cinch! Smoothie with yogurt,berries and almond butter. I also added a sprinkling of cinnamon :-)

By 9:15 I was exhausted and had showered and was comfortably watching Antenna TV (All In The Family is so much better now than what I remembered), when I looked at my room and thought about rearranging. Now, I told myself that I'm pretty tired and I will rearrange when I come home at a decent hour. The problem is, I was already thinking about how I would rearrange my room and once I go thinking about it, I know I will do it. Yup...so as exhausted as I was, at 11pm, I started rearranging! Ok- so it wasn't that bad. I only moved my bed and TV. For some reason they were bothering me the most. I still have a couple of other things to move, but they are some light things which I will finish up today. Needless to say, I got a pretty good nights sleep.

Ok- now that you know all about my night, let's talk breakfast. This morning I had my Cinch! breakfast a little differently than yesterday. I chopped up my spinach, sliced my egg, added slivered almonds, dusted with some onion powder and balsamic vinegar. On the side I had a bowl of berries. This time I got a mix of black and red berries. So far so good, this is day 2 and I've been doing well!

Will post more later....

Question of the day: What is your favorite tea to sip on?

It's Yogurt Parfait Time...

Here's a teaser for the recipe tomorrow! I had my yogurt parfait, which, I know hardly looks like a parfait, but was still delish :-)

Like I said before, I think this time around will be much easier since my body is already used to smaller portions. So far I feel good and am even thinking about getting to the gym for a workout!

The Cinch!...AGAIN!

Good Morning All,

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! So, last week my dear friend and coworker, Vianny asked if I would be willing to do the five day fast forward plan of The Cinch! with her. I've already tried this in February, with success and have not gained any of the weight back, as I'm doing a good job with maintaining.

I decided to go ahead and do this but tweak it just a teensy weensy bit. One of the things that irked me the first time I did this was the amount of raspberries that needed to be eaten. I LIKE raspberries, not LOVE them and to be having so many in a day really got to me. Last time, by the end of the fifth day, I did not want to look at another raspberry! The good thing about The Cinch! is you could substitute any berry and still get the same result. So, for today, I'm subbing the raspberries for blueberries.

Now, the typical Cinch! breakfast is an egg scramble with sauteed spinach and a cup of raspberries and slivered almonds on the side. I decided to have a hard boiled egg sprinkled with onion powder with spinach on the side. I had a cup of blueberries and 10 whole almonds, which I'm thinking is about 2TB chopped or slivered. So, that was breakfast. I'm guessing The Cinch! will be much easier for me this time around because I've already adapted the ways of eating.

Question of the day: What's your favorite berry and how do you like to eat it?

Recipe Alert: Whole Wheat Pasta and Veggies

Yesterday for lunch I had a hearty pasta and veggies dish is a creamy sauce. The secret of the creamy sauce is Greek yogurt. This is such a wonderful trick,if you mix a tablespoon of pesto sauce into 6oz. of non fat Greek yogurt, you get a thick, rich, creamy sauce with such little fat and calories. Below is the recipe for my Whole Wheat Pasta and Veggies. Ingredients: 1TB of pesto sauce 6oz. non fat Greek yogurt 1tsp. onion powder 1tsp. garlic powder Freshly cracked black pepper 1/2 cup of cooked whole wheat rigatoni 1 1/2c of chopped veggies of your choice Preparation: Stir the pesto sauce, onion and garlic powders and black pepper into the greek yogurt. Place the pasta and veggies in a bowl. Add the pesto- yogurt sauce. Toss to coat. I enjoyed this meal cold and it was delish. Enjoy! Servings: 1 Here's how this meal shapes up: Whole grain: pasta Plant fat: pesto sauce Produce: veggies Lean protein: yogurt Sass: onion and garlic powders

Recipe Alert: Whole Wheat Macaroni Tuna Salad

As promised, I wanted to share my delicious lunch with you guys. Today I had Whole Wheat Macaroni Tuna Salad. Here are the deets: Ingredients: 1/2c cooked whole wheat macaroni 1c of chopped mix veggies of your choice (I used Trader Joe's chopped mixed veggies made of carrots,cabbage and radish) 1/2 can of tuna, drained Small box of raisins 2tsp of onion powder 2tsp of garlic powder Freshly cracked black pepper 1TB of Kraft Olive Oil Mayo Preparation: Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Stir to combine well. Enjoy! Servings: 1 Here's how this meal shapes up: Whole grain: whole wheat pasta Lean protein: tuna Produce: veggies and raisins Plant fat: olive oil mayo Sass: onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper

Monday morning breakfast...

Good Morning All,

Well, another week has started.  I totally have the Monday morning/day blues.  Probably because of the wintry mix of weather we are having right now!  Nothing like waking up to a cold, rainy Monday morning. 

On a brighter note, breakfast was delish!  I'm continuing to following the Cinch! principles and each of my meals contains a whole grain, plant fat, lean protein, produce and sass.  Today I had a  yogurt bowl with some oatmeal in it.  Now, this may sound weird but this was a deliciously creamy bowl of goodness!  I took 6oz. of non fat Greek yogurt, 14 whole almonds, sliced banana, cinnamon and a 1/4c of McCann's Instant Irish Oatmeal in Maple and Brown Sugar (I cooked this quickly in the microwave with water), and mixed it all together for a creamy bowl of goodness!

mmmm....creaminess!

I LOVED this because I got just a teeny bit of sugar from the oatmeal, creaminess from the yogurt, fiber from the banana and almonds and plant fat from the almonds!  YUM!!

What did you guys have for breakfast?

Question of the day:  How was your weekend?

Back On Track...

HAPPY ST. PATTY'S DAY!!!

Yesterday I went right back on track from my little setback! I started my day off with a bowl of oatmeal made with 1/4c of oats, raisins, almonds, cinnamon and some coconut milk.

A couple of hours later I got hungry for a sweet treat so I grabbed a wedge of my favorite TJ's chocolate. This kept me satisfied until lunch time.

I usually bring my lunch to work but forgot yesterday. So, I went out and bought some brown rice sushi. I bought one brown rice california roll and one brown rice veggie roll. This was delish and kept me full
for a while.


mmm...sushi...



As much as I was not feeling up for a workout, I made myself go to the gym and get my 30 minutes of cardio in. The reason why I made myself do this is because I know I was only feeling sluggish from the day

before. If I did not go to the gym I would start to fall out of my routine and I do not want to lose this habit.



Dinner last night was a very filling smoothie! Now, I know what you're thinking..."Smoothie that's not enough for dinner", before you go on a tantrum, I made myself a vegetable smoothie. This was practically a

whole salad in a blender: 1 ripe banana, 2c of frozen spinach, 1TB of EVOO, 1c of coconut milk. This smoothie may sound weird but it was delicious and nutritious! I swear...you don't even taste the spinach.  I wish I had taken a picture. It would have been perfect for St. Patty's Day!

So, that was my day in a nutshell. Now I'm onto another!

Question of the day: I'm thinking about buying a Magic Bullet. What do you guys think of this product?

Recipe Alert: Pesto Salad



mmm...Pesto Salad!

 Lately, I've been liking my pasta for lunch. Yes, a great thing about following The Cinch! Concept is you don't have to shy away from carbs!  With some healthy choices such as using whole wheat pasta and portion
control, you can guarantee you will be on your way to a healthy lifestyle and weight loss. Try my recipe below for a delicious Pesto Salad.

Ingredients:
1/2c of cooked whole wheat rotini
1c of frozen spinach
1/2c of sliced mushrooms
1/2c of sliced red or yellow bell pepper
1/4c of skim ricotta
1TB of pesto sauce

Preparation:
Place the mushrooms in a bowl. Top with frozen spinach. Microwave this for five minutes, until the spinach has defrosted and the mushrooms have softened. Place aside. In a small bowl, combine the ricotta and
pesto. Place the pasta in a salad bowl. Top with spinach and mushrooms. Add the bell pepper. Toss with the pesto mixture. Sprinkle with black pepper if desired. Enjoy!

Servings: 1

Here's how this meal shapes up:
Whole grain: pasta
Lean protein: ricotta
Plant fat: pesto
Produce: spinach,pepper,mushrooms
Sass: seasonings in pesto

Breakfast...lately....

Good Morning All,

I hope you all had a relaxing weekend!  I wanted to share what I've been having for breakfast lately.  Yes...I have moved on from oatmeal bowls to cereal bowls.  I pick a whole grain, high fiber cereal and carefully portion out a serving size.  These days I'm liking Kashi's Honey Sunshine cereal.  I then top my cereal off with some raisins and almonds -14 almonds to be exact.  Lately, I've been on a coconut milk kick.  Silk makes an amazing coconut milk.  I've only found the sweetened version, which contains 6g of sugar per 8 ounces. I use half a cup. so that's not bad.  I also sprinkle in a ton of my favorite cinnamon - Simply Organic Cinnamon.  This bowl of cereal will seriously keep me satisfied until lunch time!

Here's how this breakfast shapes up:
Whole grain:  cereal
Lean protein: coconut milk
Plant fat:  almonds
Produce:  raisins
Sass:  cinnamon

Also, weighed myself this morning, and I'm down .6 pounds from last week!  Yay!!